Financial Times: Hyundai, Kia are catching up with Tesla in EV race

Hyundai Motor Group is growing to pose a competitive threat to Tesla, the No. 1 company in the global electric vehicle market. While the South Korean company is facing a challenge as the Inflation Reduction Act took effect in the U.S., customers are showing positive responses and the company is launching new model called Ioniq 6, which is garnering much attention.

“Globally, excluding China, Hyundai and Kia are the second-biggest electric carmakers by shipments, with a combined 14 per cent market share. Tesla holds the top spot at 27 per cent,” said the Financial Times on Tuesday (local time). The Financial Times said Hyundai Motor Group’s electric vehicle sales are gaining momentum lately. When Elon Musk said Hyundai was “doing pretty well” in June, the South Korean carmaker only had nine percent of market share in the U.S. but lately the market has been positive towards the company, according to the newspaper.

The Financial Times also mentioned the similarities of Hyundai Motor Company and Kia’s impressive performance to the competition between Samsung Electronics and Apple in the smartphone market. In addition, experts believe that Hyundai Motor Company’s new electric vehicle model Ioniq 6 will add more competitiveness to the company.

While Hyundai Motor Group’s electric vehicles are not eligible for tax benefits in the U.S. market due to the introduction of the Inflation Reduction Act, foreign media companies predict that the law’s impact may be limited as the group has room to absorb battery material costs with exchange gains from an increase in the won-dollar exchange rate. The fact that major battery suppliers are South Korean companies is also believed to be an advantage.

“Foreign customers have a higher preference for Hyundai Motor Group and the group is not competing directly with the auto brands that are eligible for tax benefits at the moment,” said an auto industry insider. “The group can find other alternative solutions through various promotion schemes.”


Gun-Huk Lee gun@donga.com